Hiring Writers, Programmers and Designers - Should You Outsource Or Just Do It Yourself?

Outsourcing has been the topic of contentious debates among business tycoons across the globe. While most highlight its cost cutting pros, others look at the more in-depth side of outsourcing to justify their stand in steering clear from this liberal economic trend. In the middle of all these disputes, getting edified on how to weigh the options and the risks involved should be an imperative.

Setting aside the argument that outsourcing is mutually beneficial to the company and the third party vendor, company decision makers may want to pose a few insightful questions before jumping in on the bandwagon.

Core Business Functions

Conservative business moguls would advise keeping core functions within in-house operations. You may want to think twice before choosing to divulge trade secrets in the form of outsourced business processes to a third party provider. Not only will this make your business vulnerable to competitor threats, but you also risk spilling sensitive information that may prove detrimental in the future. On the other hand, minor tasks like basic accounting functions, email response handling, or an answering service for your prospective clients may be delegated to freelancers.

Costs and Operational Efficacy

Will the reduced costs compensate for all the legal restrictions and transitional expenses needed to outsource the job? For big companies who are planning to outsource specific functions, there should be an intensive financial analysis of the whole transition phase. If the third party vendor is located overseas, you have to know the legal background and the tax requisites in case you partner with a foreign company. External factors such as red tape and workforce quality should be included so you can weigh cost efficiency. The fatal mistake of outsourcing to the wrong company with a substandard labor force will cost you more in the long run.

Skill Set Availability

Can't someone from your own workforce do the job? Knowing the expertise of your people will help you gauge their competence. Smaller tasks like payroll computations, database organization, or web development may not necessarily be delegated to someone else if you have the people who can do them for you with the same base pay.

Duration

Is it a long term or a short term venture? The words long and short term are relative. As a general rule, if the project that you are planning to outsource is a temporary contract, say a few days or weeks, then it's definitely better to outsource the job to the people who do the job best at the lowest rates possible. This will prove to be a practical strategy instead of allotting days for interviews and applicant screening and disposing the person off when the project's over. Time concerns also apply when you are under siege to meet strict deadlines. For instance, outsourcing the online research part of your e-book may save you precious time and help you focus on other crucial elements like conducting interviews or surveys. This way, you get to multitask and face higher chances of completing that project right on the dot, maybe even sooner.

Infrastructure

If the project has infrastructure requisites that require major investments and system overhaul, outsourcing may be the better option. It's definitely smarter to hire the services of people who have the existing system in place and have proven track record in similar tasks than to shell out a hefty sum and disrupt the smooth flow of your operations. In this case, you also generate risk-sharing by saving your existing resources and leaving the technical concerns to more experienced professionals.

Regardless of whatever decision you come up with, whether you decide to delegate or outsource simple or complex business functions, keep in mind one fundamental business dictum - options with the lowest monetary constraints are not always the best for your bottom line.